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Worldwide, the number of only-child families is increasing. This research examines how growing up without siblings affects adult brain structure, function and connectivity, cognition, personality and mental health.

Socioeconomic status is multidimensional and can change over time. Xu, Lui, Ji et al. found dimension-specific, late-stage-specific and change-specific socioeconomic effects on brain, cognition, personality and emotion.

Cross-ancestry and sex-stratified genome-wide association analyses for 21 amygdala volumetric traits in East Asian and European individuals provide insight into the genetic architectures of amygdala and subnucleus volumes.

While SNAP25 is critical for neural electrical communication, its cardiac role is unknown. Here the authors show that it governs atrial electrical stability by directing Kv1.5 channel trafficking, with therapeutic implications for atrial fibrillation.

Cross-ancestry genome-wide association studies of 3,414 brain imaging phenotypes in Chinese Han and white British participants identify autosomal and X-chromosomal associations in more diverse populations.

Chromosome-level genome assemblies of allotetraploid Nicotiana tabacum and its ancestors, along with their transcriptomes, epigenomes and genotype and phenotype data for 5,196 N. tabacum germplasms, provide insights into genome evolution and complex trait regulation.

Genome-wide association meta-analyses in populations of East Asian and European ancestries identify variant–trait associations for 44 hippocampal traits and provide insight into the genetic architectures of hippocampal and subfield volumes.

Depression affects millions of people worldwide. Here, the authors show a substantial polygenic overlap between depression and brain subcortical volumes, identifying 44 shared loci.

Empathy and aggression are essential to well-being and survival, but its circuit mechanism remains unclear. Here, authors show two specific pathways from the medial amygdala as brain switches that control the consolation or attacking respectively.

Xuejun Zhang, Jun Wang, Liangdan Sun, Lennart Hammarström and colleagues sequence the MHC region in 20,635 Han Chinese individuals. Their Han-MHC database allows identification of new susceptibility loci for psoriasis and could serve as a tool for investigating the role of the MHC region in other complex diseases.

This study uses complex networks to identify atmospheric teleconnections driving summer heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere. The results show that changes in certain teleconnections drive the spatial differences in heatwave variability and trends.

Defect engineering of topological materials provides an avenue for the controllable manipulation of optoelectronic properties. Here, the authors introduce a defect gradient into a Dirac semimetal to control the Berry curvature dipole-driven THz emission in the material.

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia has emerged as an alternative strategy for effluent treatment and ammonia production. Here, the authors report a pulsed potential approach to overcome the sluggish reaction kinetics caused by the limited distribution of negatively charged nitrate near the working electrode and the competing side reactions.

Modification of RNA with m6A has been shown to be important during spermatogenesis. Here they identify post-transcriptional functions of PRRC2A, showing it promotes transcriptome transition from spermatogonia to spermatocytes and the translation of genes related to cell division.

Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disease with complex genetics and different degrees of prevalence across ethnic populations. Here Yin et al. conduct a large trans-ethnic genome-wide meta-analysis and identify novel loci that contribute to population-specific susceptibility.

Renal tubular atrophy is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease. The study by Zhu et al. reveals the protective role of tubular polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPT1) against renal atrophy by blocking the leakage of mitochondrial dsRNAs into cytoplasm where they activate the PKReIF2α axis and terminate translation.

Spin currents are generated from an antiferromagnet/heavy-metal heterostructure using optical excitation on picosecond timescales. This will have applications in antiferromagnetic spintronics.

The wealth of data gathered from single-cell RNA sequencing can be processed with deep learning techniques, but often those methods are too opaque to reveal why a single cell is labelled to be a certain cell type. Lifei Wang and colleagues present an RNA-sequencing analysis method that uses capsule networks and is interpretable enough to allow for identification of cell-type-specific genes.

The time-varying metasurfaces show promise for exploring exotic physics and photonic applications. The authors introduce a time-varying metasurface with superconductor-metal hybrid meta-molecules, demonstrating phase-controllable frequency conversion with high efficiency.

This study uncovers the specialized function of previously elusive BCL7 subunits of SWI/SNF complexes in eukaryotes and reveals the mechanism whereby plants memorize the juvenile identity through SWI/SNF-mediated control of chromatin accessibility.

Light penetration and overheating are major issues facing the application of photothermal therapy. Here, the authors develop a temperature responsive hydrogel optical waveguide for controlled delivery of light to deep tumours and demonstrate biocompatibility and temperature responsive phototherapy in vivo

Abrupt changes in the African Monsoon, which have been recorded throughout the late Pleistocene and early Holocene epochs, tend to coincide with changes in North Atlantic thermohaline circulation. A numerical simulation shows that the interaction between thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean and wind-driven currents in the topical Atlantic Ocean contributes to the rapidity of African Monsoon transitions during abrupt climate change events.

P1 neurons integrate sensory cues to initiate male courtship in Drosophila. Here the authors identified inhibitory Drosulfakinin-expressing neurons that interact with P1 neurons in an experience-dependent manner, and oppositely regulate male sex drive.

A high-quality draft genome assembly of Musa balbisiana (the banana B-genome) is reported. Comparative genomic and gene functional analyses provide insights into the subgenome evolution and functional divergence between the A- and B-subgenomes.

The X-ray crystal structure of the human glucagon receptor, a potential drug target for type 2 diabetes, offers a structural basis for molecular recognition by class B G-protein-coupled receptors.

Nanoparticles can be used for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Here, the authors report that nanoparticles made of a single chemical building block, called nanoporphyrins, incorporate eight different functionalities, including various types of imaging, drug delivery and cancer therapy.